(word cloud of the Universal Design for Learning Guidelines published by CAST)
Have you heard the buzz about word clouds? A word/tag cloud (or weighted list in visual design) is a visual depiction of user-generated text (single words) that is typically listed alphabetically, with the importance of the tag shown through font size or color. This makes finding a tag alphabetically or by popularity quick and simple. Word clouds are a fantastic example of representing content in a unique and visual manner (a key component of the universal design for learning framework). Wordle is a wonderful free web-based application for creating word clouds that graphically display the frequency of word usage. Simply copy in a bunch of text, or enter the URL of any blog, blog feed, or any other web page that has an Atom or RSS feed, or add a Delicious username to have the content visually represented in a word cloud. There are a variety of features within Wordle to help enhance a word cloud. For example, use the layout feature for viewing the words horizontally, vertically or any which way desired. Within the color color options, users can change the color of the words and backgrounds from predefined color lists or from user-design color schemes. So how can word clouds be useful tools in classrooms or workshops? Well, below are just a few ideas for using this type of technology to enhance instruction:
1. Students can use it to monitor the frequency of word usage in their own writings – how often do they use the same adjectives or nouns.
2. Students can use it to analyze the acceptance speeches of politicians - what similar words with Barak Obama and John McCain use?
3. Students/Teachers can use it to create current study posters – what is curricularly important in class this week?
3. Teachers can use it to visually represent lesson plans or classroom notes for students.
4. Administrators can use it to highlight important school documents – mission statements, guidelines, etc.
5. Administrators can use it to alternatively represent new material they are presenting at a staff meeting or workshop.
6. Administrators can use it to visually highlight changes within IDEA or NCLB regulations.
What ideas do you have? Use the comment feature below to add a post to this blog entry describing how you would use the technology!
